The Legislative Council completed scrutiny of the Northern Metropolis Development Bill on August 21, marking the latest legislative step for the development project. The Development Bureau said the area’s wide scope, urgency and distinctive circumstances required dedicated legislation alongside supporting policies.
The proposed legislation is currently intended to apply only to the Northern Metropolis. The bureau said it had no present plan to extend the law to other parts of Hong Kong, with the work focused on removing legal barriers and addressing major policy matters for the development area.
During the clause-by-clause scrutiny, lawmakers asked whether the Northern Metropolis would receive dedicated tax incentives or tax-free arrangements similar to those used in development zones elsewhere. The Development Bureau said its current policy direction was instead to establish a unified arrangement applying across Hong Kong, under a steering committee led by the Financial Secretary.
The bureau said the government planned to amend the Inland Revenue Ordinance so that businesses considered helpful to development could receive tax incentives. It did not provide the proposed amendments or explain the criteria for deciding which businesses would qualify, so the tax measures remain subject to further detail and would not be created automatically by the bill’s completed scrutiny.
The government expects the related drafting work to be completed in 2027. Invest Hong Kong and the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises are expected to provide one-stop investment promotion services, while the content of the tax changes and how a territory-wide arrangement would support Northern Metropolis investment promotion have yet to be set out.